โ Scribed by Holland, Tom
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Author and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubiconhis masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of the fall of the Roman republicwith Dynasty, a luridly fascinating history of the reign of the first five Roman emperors.
Dynasty continues Rubicon's story, opening where that book ended: with the murder of Julius Caesar. This is the period of the first and perhaps greatest Roman Emperors and it's a colorful story of rule and ruination, running from the rise of Augustus through to the death of Nero. Holland's expansive history also has distinct shades of I Claudius, with five wonderfully vivid (and in three cases, thoroughly depraved) EmperorsAugustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nerofeatured, along with numerous fascinating secondary characters. Intrigue, murder, naked ambition and treachery, greed, gluttony, lust, incest, pageantry, decadencethe tale of these five Caesars continues to cast a mesmerizing spell across the millennia.
**
Startlingly visceral.... Holland has crafted a history of early Rome that has all the gripping detail and narrative momentum of a novel. The New York Times
Holland is a master of narrative history. On the strength of Dynasty, he deserves a laurel wreath. The Washington Post
Dynastysurely secures [Hollands] place among the foremost writers of popular history practicing today.... His ability to operate at small and large scale simultaneously . . . is one of his great talents. The Wall Street Journal
Fascinating.... [Dynasty] has Hollands usual novelistic ability to bring a narrative alive, together with his extraordinary command of ancient sources. Matt Ridley, The New York Times Book Review
[A] rollicking account of the Julio-Claudians.... A meditation on the enduring power and possibilities of storytelling. Financial Times
Excellent.... Engrossing.... [Holland] is a witty and skillful storyteller, capable of penning penetrating psychological portraits of the monsters who form his subject. New Statesman
Gripping. The New York Review of Books
A richly panoramic picture of Rome in the first century AD, dwelling on its manners and morals.... Holland writes about [his subjects] with great verve and insight. The Literary Review
Among the many virtues of Tom Hollands terrific history is that he does not shrink from seeing the Roman emperors for what they were.... He knits the history of ancient Rome into his narrativeits founding myths, the fall of the republic, the religious superstitionswith a skill so dextrous you dont notice the stitching. Dynasty is both a formidable effort to compile what we can know about the ancient world and a sensational story. The Observer (England)
A swaggering history of the dynastic house that Julius Caesar built. Sunday Express
Hollands masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman empire is, at its heart, a political analysis.... It is down to his skill as a storyteller that theres no difficulty in imagining that it might all happen again tomorrow. The Sunday Times (London)
Thrilling.... [A] fast-paced historical narrative. Evening Standard
Brilliant, terrifying and compelling. Alex Preston, The Observer (England)
A wonderful, surging narrativea brilliant and meticulous synthesis of the ancient sources.... This is a story that should be read by anyone interested in history, politics or human natureand it has never been better told. The Mail on Sunday
Impressive.... First-rate ancient history and a compulsively good read.... This is history in which fact and fiction overlap, rigorously researched and lightened with dashes of humour. Daily Mail
A vivid account. Kirkus Reviews
A lurid, ripping yarn, peopled by characters whose propensity for self-indulgence, cruelty and sheer tyrannical excess has not lost its ability to shock. Sydney Morning Herald
Tom Holland is a historian of the ancient world and a translator. His books includeRubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic,Persian Fire,In the Shadow of the SwordandThe Forge of Christendom. He has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for the BBC. In 2007, he was the winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilization of Ancient Greece and Rome. He lives in London with his family.
Visit the author's website at www.tom-holland.org.
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